The Chargers are now 8-6 after falling to the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Here are five takeaways from Week 15.

1. An uncharacteristic loss

Let's just call it what it was: a clunker.

That was evident after the Chargers put together their most disappointing game of the season Sunday against Tampa Bay in a 40-17 home loss.

"We didn't play well enough, we didn't coach well enough," Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said. "It was pretty thorough. Very thorough.

"In all phases, we didn't get the job done," Harbaugh added. "I put that on myself, on coaching, on playing. There's not one place we could point to and say we were good enough."

Almost nothing went right for the Chargers in all three phases.

The defense, which had been stout all season, gave up a season high in points (40) and yards (506) while also allowing Tampa Bay to convert on nine of 15 third downs.

The offense was hot early as the unit scored 17 points on their first three possessions. But the group was shut out the rest of the way as the offense managed just 207 total yards.

Penalties and miscues even applied to special teams, too.

Yeah, it was a clunker alright.

"This is life, football," Harbaugh said. "We've seen the good times and today we're looking at adversity. It's how you respond. That's what my mind is on to. Getting ready for this next game."

Justin Herbert added: "We got beat today. Got beat badly. We have to do everything we can to learn from it and not let this one affect our next one."

2. Flipping the page

Speaking of the next game, that will take place about 96 hours after Sunday's game ended.

The Chargers will host the Broncos on Thursday Night Football in Week 16. Kickoff is at 5:15 p.m. (PT) from SoFi Stadium.

The Bolts vowed to be ready to go in primetime.

"We throw it away and move forward," Daiyan Henley said. "We gotta lick our wounds right now."

Rashawn Slater added: "We don't have any choice. We play again in four days. It's a test of who you are as a person, our character as a team. The way I see it, you don't have a choice."

Gus Edwards said: "No time to pout."

While players will focus on rest and recovery in the upcoming days, coaches will dive into the film and get a game plan ready to go.

No matter which way you slice it, Thursday's game will have massive AFC Wild Card implications.

The Chargers Week 15 loss, coupled with Denver's win over Indianapolis on Sunday, moved the Broncos into the sixth seed. The Bolts now reside in the seventh and final playoff spot.

According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Chargers still have an 87 percent chance to make the playoffs.

But they know the time is now to make a move.

"At the end of the day, I know guys are going to respond well, come back and do their jobs," said rookie Tarheeb Still, who had an interception Sunday. "You can look at it as a negative but I think it's going to light a fire in some guys, really get them going and really have a sense of urgency."

Derwin James, Jr. added: "You get to flush it quicker. Denver is coming here, they don't care if we lost today. They're coming in here Thursday so we got to be ready to go."

The Chargers cannot clinch a playoff berth in Week 16. Denver, however, can by getting a win at SoFi Stadium.

"When you're facing adversity, it's how you respond to it," Harbaugh said.

3. Defense burned by big plays

The was a sense of frustration among the Bolts defense in the postgame locker room.

And no sequence was more evident of that than in the third quarter.

With the Chargers leading 17-13, the Bucs hit a 57-yard touchdown pass to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

The Bolts then punted before Tampa Bay rushed for 54 yards on its first play on the ensuing drive. And although that drive ended in a field goal, the game was starting to slip away from the Chargers.

Tampa Bay poured it on later in the third quarter when the Bolts gave up a 35-yard touchdown pass on third-and-12.

"They punched us in the mouth," James said. "We didn't stop the run, the pass, really anything. We didn't stop anything today and it showed on film. We got to flush it."

Henley added: "It just wasn't our standard."

Khalil Mack said he was most irritated by the fact the Buccaneers ran for 222 yards as a team.

That is the highest total allowed by the Chargers this season.

"When you let a team rush for 200 yards, that always does something to me," Mack said. "Just understanding how physical we want to play this game of football, it's almost like you're disrespecting the game when a team is able to rush for 200 yards on you.

"That's between you and you, you dominating the man across from you and making plays," Mack added. "I feel like playing the run is just a choice."

Overall, Tampa Bay had nine plays of 18 yards or more.

4. Herbert's streak ends

Herbert's historic streak without an interception came to an end Sunday.

The Chargers quarterback threw an interception late in the third quarter when he tried to hit Quentin Johnston on a deep pass.

Instead, the pass was picked off Jamel Dean as Herbert's streak ended at 357 passes. That will go down as the fifth-longest such streak in NFL history, just one shy of Tom Brady's fourth-best mark of 358 set between the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

"It is what it is," Herbert said. "I always try to protect the ball and not put our team in harm's way. Unfortunately, that one got away from me."

He later added: "Maybe a throwaway is better is that situation … but you can't take the aggression out [of your game]."

Herbert, who played through a sprained left ankle, completed 21 of 33 passes for 195 yards.

Perhaps a bigger concern was the fact that the Bolts couldn't convert a single third-down play on six attempts.

"It's tough to put up points when we're 0-for-6 on third down," Herbert said. "We definitely have to be better at that."

The Bolts run game struggled, too, with Gus Edwards and Kimani Vidal combining for just 32 yards on 11 carries.

5. A crucial decision

Similar to last week, Harbaugh and the Chargers faced a decision in no man's land on offense.

This time, the Bolts had fourth-and-6 from the Tampa Bay 42-yard line with roughly four minutes to play.

Up 17-10, the Chargers passed a chance to try a field goal or keep the offense on the field as J.K. Scott's punt sailed out of the back of the end zone for a touchback.

Harbaugh said postgame that he wanted to rely on his defense, which had just forced turnovers on back-to-back Tampa Bay possessions.

"That would have been a 60-yard field goal or go for it," Harbaugh said. "Our defense had had two good stops to turn the ball over twice. I envisioned punting the ball in close and being able to get the ball back."

The Bucs 42-yard line was almost the closest the Chargers would get to the end zone the rest of the game.

The Chargers later reached Tampa Bay's 33 but turned the ball over on downs. The Bolts were 0-for-2 on their fourth-down tries Sunday.